Kiss Me One Last Time
by Mistress Reigns
Summary: The two newest Divas on the roster are singled out to job alongside the Shield, a bittersweet way to gain publicity. But what begins as just another part of the job becomes so much more when a storyline gone wrong results in very real jealousy between two friends and very real angst between one fake couple.
1. Prologue

_**Prologue**_

Shay has no idea how she ends up in the parking lot alone. Of all places to end up alone, anywhere, she ends up in a dark parking lot in the middle of the night. Raw has just concluded for the evening and all she wants to do is head back to the hotel and sleep. And, at some point, see a doctor and make sure Tamina dropping her on her head did not result in a concussion.

Jobbing isn't a particularly charming result of being a wrestler, much less a new one that the company wants to lose constantly. She never really understood just how corrupt everything seemed until now, when she's at the short end of the stick and seeing how many of her fellow wrestlers are forced to compete in ridiculous matches, losing over and over again despite how well-loved they were back in NXT or their choice brand before Hunter and Stephanie took over.

Naïve little girl that she was, she once thought that _anyone_ running the company would be better than Vince, especially after he started more or less disposing of the smaller wrestlers left and right. What happened to Drew set her off worse; knowing him now only makes it worse, and if she ever meets the former head of the company, she might be inclined to see if any of the moves she knows can inflict real damage outside of the ring. But she honestly believed Hunter would know better—at one point, he had seemed like a guy who knew his shit, but not anymore.

She retrieves her phone from her pocket and dials a number. _"Hello?"_

The voice belongs to Cathy, another one of the newer Divas; the two of them have more or less bonded due to being paired together in tag matches. Why the company bothers with tag matches at all half of the time makes no sense, especially given the overall lack of storyline anymore.

"Hey, it's me. I stayed late and now I'm in the parking lot alone." She retrieves her keys from her hip pocket, flipping through them quickly. "Stay on with me until I get to my car."

_"Not a problem. Stay late to finish watching the matches?"_ It's been a common thing the two of them have done since joining the company. While they go back to the hotel if there are no interesting matches left to watch, they stay if they know the wrestlers or simply like them.

Shay starts toward her car with quick steps. "Of course I did. I'm surprised you didn't."

_"I seriously screwed up my ankle. I just wanted to get back here and rest for a bit before it causes me problems. But I watched the last few matches on TV."_ Cathy shifts and something on the other end of the line rattles. _"It was nice seeing Flair endorse the Shield, wasn't it?"_

"It's one of the only nice things that's happened to them, and I don't even know if it was planned or not." Shay locates her car key and traps it between two fingers so as not to lose it again, glancing around the parking lot to make sure she is still alone. Alone is better than not.

Cathy chuckles softly. _"Agreed. Randy and Hunter looked like they didn't know what was going on, and Hunter is a notoriously bad actor. Heard your car unlock. Later."_

Of course the car alarm is loud enough to be heard over a cell phone; Shay rolls her eyes but smiles and hangs up, sliding the phone into her back pocket. She can't wait to get back to the hotel herself; wrestling anymore is taking a lot out of her, and there is not much more she can do in way of a job. Besides, she spent most of her childhood watching wrestlers on television and wanting to be one of them; she cannot very well quit because the job hurts a little.

As bad as jobbing can be, and as painful as it often is with the more voracious girls like Tamina, she knows she has to start somewhere. _And this just happens to be where you start: at the bottom, just like all of the people you idolized when you were growing up._

Just as she reaches for her door handle, a voice calls to her from behind her. "It's really not safe to walk in dark parking lots alone."

"Shit!" She whirls around, pressing herself up against the car and combing through what self-defense techniques she knows when she recognizes the broad shoulders and the accent. "Oh, screw you, McIntyre. That is not a funny joke and it never will be."

"I didn't mean for it to be funny." Drew cocks his head at her, a smile tugging at his lips.

She scowls and straightens up. "I know. I didn't realize what I was doing until I came out here."

"And you could've gotten hurt in the process." He steps closer, bracing his hip against the side of her car. "I can guarantee a lot of the moves you've learned would be hard to do out here."

"Considering I don't have ropes or a bouncy mat to help, yeah, I can see how that would be a problem. Still. I can defend myself." _Sort of. Not really. Maybe I need to buy a taser._

Drew raises an eyebrow at her until she sighs and shakes her head—no, she can't really defend herself, at least not in the dark. "Are you at least heading back to the hotel now?"

"Yeah. You need a ride?" When he nods, she waves him around the front of the car.

Drew had been one of her many favorites before she made it to OVW, much less to NXT. There was something about his presence in the ring and his ability from the get-go she found charming, and very little had changed in way of that since the first time he had set foot on the show. Once she joined Raw and had a chance to meet him, she more or less went out of her way to suck up her normal anti-social personality and defend the Scotsman. Thus far, it's been an excellent decision; he, Heath, Jinder, and Hornswoggle are all amazing people to hang out with.

Of course, some of the older wrestlers had made noises about befriending the people the company didn't like; she ignored them since most of them tended to be rude backstage.

Preoccupied with her thoughts, it takes her a moment to pick up on the fact Drew is talking; she glances toward him as she exits the parking lot onto the main road so he knows he has her attention now. Unsurprisingly, the subject is Heath Slater and Wade Barrett, the two who tend to play as more than friends behind closed doors. Drew has a thing for the little redhead—the fact he's taller than her be damned—but hasn't said a word considering Heath being happily taken by Wade. Most people assume Drew is a fierce and domineering person in reality, but if anything, he's just a giant, heartsick, Scottish puppy who needs hugs and chocolate.

"I get that they're happy together, but it still hurts to see it sometimes. They're not as discreet when it's just us, you know?" He glances at her for confirmation, and she makes an affirmative sound and nods her head. "Which, I don't want to say anything because I don't have a right to say anything, and I mean, I don't want to lose his friendship. Or Wade's. Or anyone's."

"If it helps, you're not going to lose mine whether you say anything or not. I know your heart's in roughly the right place." She stretches out a hand to pat him on the knee.

He laughs softly and leans back in his seat, running a hand through his long hair. "It helps more than you'd expect. Not having any friends here was the worst part in the very beginning."

She nods; it tends to be the worst part for everyone new to the company unless they made friends back when they were in NXT or OVW. Unless they happened to be social butterflies who made friends easily, something that was neither common nor uncommon among the roster, they tended to stay off on their own until someone approached them or they were put up against someone they needed to converse with. Friendships have been born due to Creative sticking random people together, and they tend to be ten times as strong as the originating weak storylines are.

"I just..." Drew breaks off and shakes his head, then turns to face her. "I mean to tell you. There's rumors going around that Stephanie is actually going to set foot in the ring soon."

"Oh God, it's going to be Vickie Guerrerro all over again except markedly less amusing because of who she is." Shay stops at a red light and turns her full attention to Drew, waiting for him to give her the goods news—if there happens to be any, and there had better be good news.

He nods and glances over at her. "She's going to be messing with the Shield alongside her husband, not to mention what she's got going with Bryan. They'll want a Diva or two."

"What, to stick with the Shield since they can't hit Stephanie themselves?" She shakes her head; the idea itself is ludicrous. "Who are they using? Is it going to be Paige?"

"Not from what I've heard. Which isn't much, but... They're talking about dragging either you or Cathy out there since you both job and of course Stephanie will win, head of Creative in all." Drew rolls his eyes, but Shay just groans and thunks her head against the steering wheel.

"Please tell me they're leaning more toward someone else and _not_ one of us," she insists, cursing softly when Drew remains silent. Then they seriously are considering one of them, then.

Drew clears his throat slightly. "It's not exactly the best circumstance, but it's not that horrible."

He is being generous, though, and they both know it; working with the Shield will be amazing, but jobbing to Stephanie McMahon will make either or both of them a laughingstock. At least Hunter has been a wrestler for a long time, and a well-known one at that; losing to him isn't nearly as bad as losing to his wife. And Shay despises the woman fiercely; she nearly always has, and time has hardly changed her feelings. Finding out Stephanie is just as much of a bitch as she portrays on TV, if not more so, really has done nothing to soften her feelings toward the woman.

"Why?" She turns her attention back to the road once the light flickers to green. "Why don't they make Brie do it since they're already busy screwing with Daniel? Seems effective enough."

"Apparently it's not going to have anything to do with that and everything to do with the Shield." Drew shrugs; not even he understands why Hunter picks on the trio the company put together.

She scowls as a particularly slow car—probably only going five miles under the limit, but still—forces her to pass. "I don't want to job to her. Anyone _but_ her and I'm fine with it."

"You can always just say no." Drew pauses, seeming to consider his words. "I mean, you have a contract, so they can't just fire you for it. But you'll miss out on working with the Shield."

Working with the Shield is not an opportunity she's keen on missing; the three are easily the up-and-coming stars if the company would just _let_ them do it instead of beating them down more often than building them up. She doesn't really talk to them, considering the fact that even though Dean is a sweetheart, Seth and Roman come off as more than a little intimidating. But she knows what style is, and the three of them have it; in-ring, they are easily one of the better teams put together and splitting them apart would be criminal at this point.

And like damn near every Diva on the roster, she has her eye on one of them and working closer to him would be phenomenal even if they keep their relationship professional at best. Well, given her lack of desire for a relationship of any kind at the moment, it isn't like she would purposefully go after him. Dating backstage can be a hell of its own, and a good deal of the couples don't last while a handful have managed to thrive. Others still end in divorce; she doesn't particularly like TNA but was still watching around the time Kurt and Karen divorced and she hooked up with Jeff _of all people._ Things like that, while common and sometimes easily dealt with in real life, cause more turmoil when you have to work with the people you hurt.

"I'm pretty sure saying no isn't going to help out my career at all. And, you know, it's screen time with guys the fans care about. Even if some of the fans are slightly insane and maybe even a little too devoted." She catches the snigger from Drew and smiles herself, rolling down her window a few inches to let some of the cool night air waft into the car.

Then he sobers and clears his throat, turning almost sideways in his seat and pulling his knees up against his broad chest; his shoulder strap is probably across the seat, then. "I say do it. It's not pretty, and I'm sure it's going to piss you off more than once, but publicity will do you good."

"Even if it results in attempted murder?" She shoots him a look, and he cocks an eyebrow at her. "Oh, come on. All those weapons conveniently hidden under the ring. I might get excited."

"If you do end up hitting her with something you're not supposed to, make it count since you'll probably get in trouble for doing it in the first place." His eyes glitter with glee even in the darkness of the vehicle, and she grins wickedly at him. "Besides, aren't you excited at the idea of working with them? I could've sworn you said you had a little torch burning?"

She scrunches her nose at him and shakes her head. "Yes. But no. No, I'm not going to do that. Going after a guy I'm supposed to just work with might cause too much unneeded trouble."

"I highly doubt either of you would let it go that far," Drew argues, and she frowns at that.

Well... Admittedly, probably not. Enough bad relationships to last a few more years and an overall lack of enthusiasm when it came to pursuing anyone had given her time to think about said past relationships. She'd put up with a lot, like most people tended to do when they thought the other person was worth it but was too blind to see they were far from worth it. And he came off as pretty down-to-earth, so it was likely he would be smart enough to know if anything happened. But it really is a moot point; she isn't dating within the company for a reason.

"It's not really worth speculating about when it's not going to happen. I don't really need another relationship to break down to know it's not for me right now." She shrugs, and he lets it go.

They reach the hotel after a few more minutes and head into the elevator together, separating only when they reach their floor. He heads one way, and she the other, digging her key card out of her back pocket and seriously considering just sticking the damned thing in her bra where she's less likely to lose it or worry about digging it out. Cathy is already asleep when she steps inside, so she does her best to change out of her street clothes quietly and into one of the oversized t-shirts she sleeps in. She's not tired, but she doesn't want to wake up Cathy, either.

As she settles into bed and drags the comforter over top of her body, she thinks back to Drew's words; why did the Authority want to push her and Cathy into this? Surely they had better-known Divas who would play the parts better... Or maybe they didn't. They do so little with the Divas that maybe they have no idea if they already have the perfect person to do this or not.

If she has to job to Stephanie, she will; it will hurt, and she will be mortified until she finally gets written into something worthwhile, but she can handle it like an adult if it comes. She might try what she told Drew she would and get in a few unnecessary swipes just to say she had the pleasure of doing so, but maybe not. She isn't sure yet. All she does know is that while working with the Shield would be an honor, it might also end up being more awkward than it should have to be. Especially if Creative decides to be a dick and write another stupid romance storyline.

If they end up doing that, she might just refuse after all and deal with the ramifications.

Sighing, she drapes her forearm over her eyes and starts running over possible ways to refuse the offer if it includes romance. _I have more self-respect than to let myself be put into that role_ sounds too offensive while _I am not letting you write me with a guy I actually like_ is childish and stupid. She dozes off long before she has a proper line ready, but considering how long the drive will be to the next city, she might have more time to plan it out properly before they arrive.


	2. Chapter One

_**Chapter One**_

They aren't really the kind of people anyone wants to fuck with.

Most of the men and women on the roster are fairly nice people outside of the ring and the cheesy storylines. While they might fight and bicker in the ring, they go out together after the show is over and have a few drinks while laughing over silly memories and former feuds. Even Bray Wyatt is a fairly nice guy behind the scenes—dangerously unstable, but as nice as someone who is so mental can be. But a handful of people on the roster are not nice people; they are legitimately dangerous and will fuck people up if anyone decides to mess with them.

Cathy knows she and Shay have been on that list for a long time.

They had been even when they were in NXT and OVW. Too many people tried to cross them, seeing as they were the new girls, and either one or both of them would respond with terser words or downright violence if given the chance. Looking back, it's probably that very tendency that convinced the Authority to move them up in the first place. The Divas division has hardly been what anyone would call exciting lately, not with AJ gone and Paige still not wrestling the top tier Divas, but she and Shay were still being pushed. Pushed _hard._ Pushed because it was clear from the beginning the Authority had a plan for the two of them and wanted to see it come to fruition as quickly as possible. And now, here they are.

The inside of Stephanie McMahon's office is stifling, but not for any particular reason other than the Billion Dollar Princess and her husband are in the room with them. Biting back a sigh and an eye-roll at being kept in the room for so long without explanation, Cathy rakes a hand through her hair and glances down at the screen of her phone. Shay informed her of Drew's words as soon as she came in last night, and now it appears the rumor is truth. As far as she knows, they've been called into the room so they can find out their first part of working with the Shield.

This push is harder. She knows that all too well, and even if the chance to be out in the ring every night for one reason or another, actually get noticed instead of being brushed off after a ridiculously short match, this isn't the way she wanted it to happen. The Shield can take care of themselves; she would rather be out there with the girls, getting to the top of the division and taking a shot at the Divas Championship rather than being forced into a storyline where she'll hardly get a chance to wrestle. Though when she joined the company in the first place, she knew she had to be prepared for the inevitable time when this would happen to her.

"Ladies, we called you in here for a specific reason," Hunter says abruptly.

"I would hope so," Cathy mutters. "We aren't decorations for your tacky chairs, thanks."

His smile is infuriating; she wants to punch him in the face. "Of course not. No one said that."

_Just because no one said it doesn't mean it's not true._ All too often, they're used like ornaments to be placed on the arms of male wrestlers to make storylines somehow more convincing or more dramatic. Daniel Bryan fighting Kane is one thing; Daniel Bryan fighting Kane to protect Brie is another. It's not even a _new_ storyline, this same basic idea happened with Edge and Lita _years_ ago, but no one seems to remember that. Coincidentally, no one seems to remember that before she was Daniel's wife, Brie Bella was a wrestler who could take care of her own. It was kind of shitty no one was actually letting her fight the Big Red Monster herself.

Hunter seems to sense the tension escalating rapidly in the room and clears his throat, straightening in his chair while Cathy pins her gaze on him, willing him to make this short so she and Shay can leave. "After some long consideration and a thorough check of the roster, we've decided to integrate you into the storyline involving the Shield and Evolution. You'll be working with the Shield, taking their side, and you'll be starting that tonight."

_Tonight. They don't fucking wait around here, do they?_ Cathy bites back a groan and glares down at the carpet, mentally reminding herself not to appear too disgruntled or that will start a chain reaction no one will like the results of. But _tonight?_ She at least wanted some fucking warning that it was going to happen, not just having it thrown on her like a lifeline. Had she known last night was going to be her final match before this disaster occurred, she might have lobbied for a win instead of accepting another job as part of getting built up into something.

"So that rumor was true. Any credit to the other one?" Shay asks, voice low and blank.

"About _me_ stepping into the ring? No, not that one. It's just been flying around as a result of us wanting to incorporate Divas into the feud in the first place." Stephanie scoffs, not meanly but just the same it's an annoying noise, before picking up where Hunter left off. "Dean is going to be defending his title in a Fatal Four-Way tonight. We have no delusions that he's going to get attacked after the match. That's where you two are going to come in."

Cathy slumps in her seat and raises her eyes. "You want us to go out there and defend him."

When Stephanie nods, the shock to her system is sharp enough to make her breathing momentarily stop in her throat. This is better than she thought it would be, at least; they can actually fight the guys instead of just the girls, and even if it isn't in a legitimate match, they get to put their hands on the guys. Maybe they can use actual moves on them because otherwise, it won't look as convincing as just slapping them or something stupid like that. Next to her, Shay even makes a noise of interest and cocks her head; as far as they knew, they would be jobbing to Stephanie. At least this is miles better than that horrible fate would have been.

"His opponents," Hunter adds, "are Alberto Del Rio, Curtis Axel, and Ryback."

"_Please_ tell me I can beat the holy fuck out of Ryback," Cathy says, straightening up and gripping the arms of her chair so tightly her knuckles start to bleach white.

The snort out of Shay and the incredulous looks on both Stephanie's and Hunter's faces combined are a Kodak moment if there ever was one. But she has issues with Ryback that run far and wide and even behind the scenes, so a chance at maybe bruising him or leaving a few good welts is one she doesn't want to pass up. Besides, he _hurts_ people. He was dropped to mid card for a reason, and the fact is, he's going to hurt Dean in this match. She happens to like Dean quite a bit, and he just got pummeled last night, so he deserves some retribution. Not more pain.

"I feel like there's a little tension between you and Ryback," Stephanie finally says, her eyes shifting back and forth between the two of them as if trying to measure their expressions.

Cathy flashes her a genuine smile and simply shrugs. "It's nothing I can't handle on my own, thanks. Just let me at him and there won't be any tension anymore."

"Well, you'll all have a chance to work things out today before the match, and I'd prefer that you did." Hunter's tone doesn't say _prefer_, it says _demand_, but they need to work out the match anyway so they might as well go ahead and do it. "The Shield are already in the practice ring working things out. I took the liberty of telling them the two of you are on the way down after this meeting. But there is one more thing we need to go over before you leave."

"Would that possibly be which one of us is paired with which one of them? Or is this not a romance storyline?" Cathy asks the question, but she knows better; it's never _not_ romance unless it's a sibling thing, but neither she nor Shay look anything like any member of the Shield and trying to pull off siblings is so much harder than pulling off cheesy romance anyway.

"No, it's romance." Stephanie smiles benevolently, as if that is some kind of favor. Maybe she thinks it is; she met her husband in the company, after all. "Since there's three of them and only two of you, and we're not bringing in another girl, there is going to be a love triangle, too."

If there was tension in the room before, those two words—_love triangle_—make it ramp up another fifteen notches. Love triangles are by far the worst storylines invented and they only serve to lessen the credibility of the talent forced into them; even Hunter looked bad when he "stole" Stephanie from Test. Cathy tries not to shake, but the fury slowly building inside of her is picking up steam far too quickly and she doesn't have a safe way to let it out right now beyond quivering like a bowstring stretched so taut it risks snapping at any moment.

"Who is the love triangle between, exactly?" Shay's voice has dropped another octave, but when Cathy glances over at her, she can see murder dancing in those dark green eyes.

"Roman isn't a convincing pick for a love triangle," Hunter says, and that's not an answer.

"So, you're pitting Seth and Dean against each other over one of us." Cathy wants to scream, rip out a good chunk of her hair—or better yet, Stephanie's—and bolt from the room before their fate can be sealed. "Which one of us are they going to be fighting over, Hunter?"

The COO looks her directly in the eyes and smirks. "They'll be fighting over you."

"_What?_" Cathy starts to rise from her chair, intent on jumping over the desk. Only Shay's arm slamming across the arms of her chair and effectively pinning her in place stops her.

"Yes. You'll be between Rollins and Ambrose." Stephanie turns to look at Shay, who looks barely restrained herself. "And you will be paired with Reigns. I think it works out."

_Oh shit._ Cathy gets a fistful of the sleeve of Shay's shirt and holds on tightly just in case, but Shay simply jerks out of her hold and pushes herself to her feet. Without hesitation, Cathy stands too; if one of them is going to lose control, they might as well both get a chance to do some damage, right? But Shay simply shakes her hair back out of her face, sends a smoldering glare at the Authority, and turns on heel to stalk toward the door with hard strides.

"Let's go find the practice ring," she snaps, and Cathy quickly follows to escape the room.

As soon as the door shuts behind them, Cathy swears and slams her back into the wall, raking both hands through her hair as the gravity of the choice weighs down on her. A fucking _love triangle_ with Seth and Dean, two guys who might as well be brothers outside of the ring, and they think this is okay. The Authority thinks this is just dandy. She wants a pitchfork and another chance to step into that office so she can show them just how okay this is _not_ going to be.

"They can't do this to us. Why did it have to be _us_ and not somebody else?" She looks up to see Shay standing still in the middle of the hallway, her back to Cathy, arms probably folded across her chest since they aren't hanging at her sides. "I thought you were going to kill them when they said you had to work with Roman. I really thought we were going to prison."

She's known how Shay feels about Roman since almost the beginning, had caught the gleam of admiration in her friend's eyes when they were backstage watching the matches the Shield was put through each night. Neither of them tried to approach the trio of men when they were brought onto the main roster, completely for lack of trying; they made friends elsewhere and stayed there. But now, they have no choice and as much as it's eating at her that she has to work with this kind of storyline, at least she doesn't have to do it with a stranger. Or alone.

"The jury's out over whether or not we're going to prison yet. I might still kill them at some point." Shay whirls around, one hand rising to whip her hair back over her shoulder when the movement sends it flying into her face. If murder was ever personified...

Cathy nods in understanding and straightens, arching her back to work the bit of ache out of it from hitting the wall so hard. "Well, we're not going to get anything accomplished standing here and we might as well look good tonight when we go in to act like idiots."

They stare at each other for a long moment before Shay finally nods, and they fall in step together as they leave this part of the building. The practice ring is bound to be where it always is because most arenas are built roughly the same, but Cathy still pulls out her phone and texts Heath for the exact location. Always dependable, and no doubt there to watch Wade or having been there to watch Wade, Heath texts her the exact directions from where she is and she takes the lead. And makes a mental note to thank Heath when she sees him for telling her where the room was because she doesn't really want to end up lost after what just happened.

Sure enough, they find the practice ring just fine and it makes her stomach twist to see Dean, Curtis, Ryback, and Alberto already in the ring. Seth and Roman are leaning against the wall, eyes focused on their brother, so no one really notices when she and Shay enter the room. At least, none of the people currently working on their match, but someone definitely notices them and announces it so loudly that everyone else in the room has to be aware of it now, too.

"Well, if it isn't my two favorite ladies!" Heath's voice rings out loudly, jarring them both.

Cathy can't even really help the smile as the ginger rushes them for a hug. "Hi, Heath."

Being in a bad mood is impossible around Heath Slater; between his infectious smile and his jovial voice, it just isn't possible to be unhappy around him. As soon as he snatches her up in a hug, Cathy laughs and hugs him in return, getting a face full of orange in the process. Even Shay grins up at him when he turns to hug her, petting down the length of his hair with clear affection while most of the other people in the room just turn to watch.

"I heard about the unfortunate circumstances you've been put in. At least now the feud's gonna be fun to watch." Heath waggles his eyebrows, and Cathy lightly slaps his arm.

"Thank Christ because some of us are getting tired of it." Wade appears at Heath's side, winding an arm around his waist and dropping a kiss onto his bare shoulder. "Ladies, welcome. You're just in time to watch this bloody catastrophe of a match come to fruition."

Shay scoffs and glances toward the ring. "And join it, unfortunately. _That_ rumor was true."

Heath widens his eyes sympathetically and claps a hand on both of their shoulders; he knows all too well about what stupidly written storylines can destroy the people forced into them. When Nexus ruptured, Wade and Heath both ended up suffering from its loss and the Corre never really worked out in the first place. At least Wade is back and Heath has 3MB. The fans are lukewarm when it comes to them, but Cathy rather likes the three of them grouped together because they suit each other. And it gives Heath a chance on the mic, which is an area he particularly excels in while most of the guys on the mic have no idea what they're doing.

Wade actually cocks his head at them, disbelief dancing in his eyes before he finally frowns and straightens up. "Wait, you're serious? That wasn't bullshit? Please tell me you don't have to job to Stephanie because I may die from shame for the both of you if you do."

Shay simply shakes her head and rapidly relays the conversation with the Authority before approaching the practice ring. Finally noticing them, the Shield breaks away from the ring to meet them halfway; Seth and Roman round the side and Dean steps from between the ropes, jumping to the floor with ease. They're not dressed in their ring gear, sporting t-shirts and jeans instead, but the effect is still startling and they are three rather big guys. Well, Seth really does fall into the average height category but flanking Roman, he somehow appears bigger. Unfortunately, she and Shay are both on the shorter side and this is just going to look comical instead of serious. _Did Hunter and Stephanie actually think this through or just wing it?_

Roman breaks the tense silence within moments. "Nice to finally meet the both of you."

"Likewise." Cathy doesn't bother to point out the fact his tone says anything but _nice to meet you,_ as hers isn't much better anyway. "So, we're supposed to rush in at the end of the match and pull the other guys off of Dean. Do you want to start with that, or do we have to do introductions?"

If they have to do introductions, she might just walk out now and say _fuck it_ when Hunter shows up demanding to know where she went. This day has been entirely too much, especially after last night. Her ankle still hurts, not that she can do much of anything about it other than make sure not to hurt it again, and she just wants to get this over and done with. As soon as they finish up here, she and Shay can find somewhere away from all of this to figure out what steps they need to take. This can't go on, not really. Eventually, the fan reaction will get so negative about two girls being involved with the Shield that the Authority will _have_ to drop them. But then what happens to their careers after that? She has no problem being a heel, as long as she gets to be a good one, but part of her doesn't believe that the fans will get behind that at all.

"I think you know us. And we know of you," Dean finally says, glancing up and away.

_We know of you._ That doesn't exactly sound like a roaring endorsement of any kind, but Cathy can work with this. As long as they don't have to sit in a circle and say their names and their favorite hobby or something like that. "All right. So, the plan is we come in at the end when you've got guys mobbing you and pull them off."

Seth nods slowly, smoothing a hand over bi-colored hair pulled into a ponytail. "Makes sense."

"Seth and I have to stay on the stairs during the match. We're banned from ringside." Roman tilts his head slightly, gaze going glassy before sharpening once again. "While you're cleaning out the ring, we'll run down. We'll get there and measure each other after the fact."

"Like we're trying to decide if you two are allies or not. Make the fans sweat a little before Monday comes and we can take it further. They can spend the week trying to make sense of it," Dean adds, earning a nod of agreement from Roman. "Do you two think we can work with that, or did you have something else in mind? Or something that Hunter specifically wants?"

Cathy glances at Shay, but Shay isn't looking anyone, so she decides to speak for the both of them. "No, that works for us. Did you get the details on how this storyline will work?"

Seth winces, Dean scowls, and Roman's face remains as impassive as ever; they most certainly did get the details, then, and Cathy just shrugs apologetically before following Roman and Seth back to the side of the ring while Dean returns to its interior. Once they stop, Shay slides down the wall to sit on the floor, pulling out her phone and no doubt texting somebody to get her mind off of what is about to happen. Cathy can't blame her but resists doing the same; she can feel Seth's eyes on her and she wants to look unaffected. Make him think that as horrible as this situation is, she can face it professionally and not let it ruffle her as badly as it actually has.

"I'm sorry you got dragged into this mess," he suddenly says, and she tilts her head, furrowing her brows at him when the words fail to make sense. At least he seems to realize this, smiling slightly as he rubs the back of his neck. "Right, um. Getting dragged into our storyline. I know that can't really be what you wanted to do, and especially when you guys probably didn't get a warning. I mean, we didn't even find out until this morning, so..."

"We had a rumor to go off of last night. That was it." Cathy shrugs; what else can they do?

At least she gets to work with Dean and Seth. She loves the Shield as wrestlers and performers, and if she absolutely _had_ to choose someone to work with, it would be a fairly even toss-up between the two of them. Even now, she can't really deny the fact she finds the two of them attractive. Between Seth with his bright smile and the big brown eyes and Dean with his twitching habit and playful smirk, it's not even really easy to say which one of them she likes looking at the most. Thank God it's up to Creative in this aspect because she doesn't want to actually risk causing drama directly. This way, she can blame it on someone else. But whether or not Seth and Dean look god has no bearing on the fact she really doesn't want to be a part of this storyline. Watching it from the sidelines has always been more than enough for her, and now directly becoming a part of it is going to end up shaping her career whether she wants it to or not.

Seth nods slowly, tucking a platinum strand behind his ear. "They never tell us what's going on."

_Understatement of the year. At least some people realize this is a bad thing and not a good one._ "Maybe they'll at least give us a little warning this time. If they want the feud to still look good, we're going to have to know what we have to do to make it convincing." _Even though there is no way to make this look at all convincing in any way, shape, or form._

"Are they going to make you change your ring gear?" Seth asks, and Cathy freezes at the words; she never really thought about their ring gear. _Fuck, we should have asked them that._

Not that their ring gear is anything spectacular or unique; she wrestles in a cut-off top and tights and Shay sticks to tights and a t-shirt. But it's about the only thing they've had any control of so far, and giving that up would seriously suck because it's the only thing they have ever really had. In a company where most of the decisions are made for you—for some wrestlers, that includes their ring gear—keeping a firm grasp on what control you _do_ have is often necessary just to stay sane. And they are probably going to have it changed at some point if this happens.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Shay flinch. The exact reason Shay picks her own clothes out each night is simple: She doesn't like the more revealing clothing because she doesn't want to be half-naked in front of thousands of people each night. Unfortunately, depending on what their gear might get changed to, she might end up in just that. Cathy doesn't really have a problem with it, but preferably she wants to wear what she chooses. It's a lot easier to change out of a shirt and tights, and they don't get as sweaty or cling as much by the end of the match.

She bites her lip when she realizes Seth is waiting for an answer, then shrugs once again. "I don't know. We didn't ask. I guess we'll find out after tonight, won't we?"

"Guess so. Maybe you'll get more matches." The suggestion is actually a nice one, but still.

_And who exactly are we going to wrestle when we're on the main card with men?_ "If we get in a few select shots at Hunter, I don't even really care about matches. Payback is what I want."

Roman actually leans away from the wall to look at her. "I think we can all agree on that."

The three of them return to watching the match, and right around the time Dean manages the pin on Axel, Shay bounces to her feet and nudges Cathy in the ribs. For a few seconds, they let the guys beat up on Dean, watching carefully, before simply nodding to each other and sliding into the ring. She knows she needs to be careful since this is just the practice, but she doesn't really have any mercy and the kick she delivers to Ryback's stomach probably hurts. Shay isn't much gentler, but at least they get the ring cleared out in moments.

"Well," Dean says, looking up at them from the mat, "I think that'll work for tonight."

Cathy rolls her eyes but kneels down, pretending to check Dean over for injuries before helping him into a sitting position. Yet again, she has to marvel at his selling skills; he actually makes it look as if he's leaning on her for support even though he's supporting the majority of his weight on his own. Shay stalks around the edges of the ring, looking very much like a predator challenging others to charge; it's not entirely fake, and that alone makes Cathy giggle softly under her breath. Dean smiles and cocks his head at her, but she just shakes hers. Then Roman and Seth slide into the ring, obviously to act out their bit of the measuring each other up thing. Seth comes to check on Dean while Roman and Shay size each other up mere feet away.

Dean's little sound in the back of his throat makes her look at him again. "Look at that."

_Look at what?_ She follows where his gaze is fixed on Roman and Shay, biting back a smile because it looks like a large predator and a smaller predator facing off against each other. Roman tilts his head slightly, then offers one large hand, and Shay studies it a moment before glancing back at Cathy. She nods, watching as Shay turns back to Roman to shake his hand.

Seth drops down on the mat next to her. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all."

_Maybe not._ Cathy shifts a bit so Dean is no longer leaning on her, so that she's facing both him and Seth at the same time. Right, how exactly to ask this next question without making it sound stupid or childish? There isn't exactly an easy way to pull that off, and she knows it. "So, we're supposed to make this look like a love triangle at some point. I'm not exactly... Well-versed in the area of making it look like I'm pitting two friends against each other."

Dean and Seth glance at each other, and it's then she notices something flash in Seth's eyes before he quickly tosses his hair, giving him time to hide it. _What the hell was that?_ She's pretty sure it isn't what she thinks it is, but ruling that out entirely is not going to make this any easier on any of them. She makes a mental note to drag someone aside later—probably Heath because he knows far too much—and ask him if he knows anything about that little flash.

"We'll have time to work that out, at least," Dean says after a moment, smiling crookedly.

Seth nods in agreement. "Yeah, they won't try to spring it immediately. It'd look too fixed."

"We'll have a couple of weeks at most to make this look like something other than a simple alliance," Roman says, dropping Shay's hand. "That's plenty of time."

"It better be because it's all the time we're going to get. They won't derail your storyline for long," Cathy adds, smiling slightly when Roman studies her before nodding once.

"Two weeks still is a short time," Shay says before leaning back against the ropes. "Very short."

Dean makes a noise and nods at her. "It is. We'll have to be more convincing after that."

"To make sure we look like we're invested in each other." Roman nods slowly, eyes glassy again.

He has a point; if their romance gets rushed into a couple of weeks, which it will be because that is how the WWE works, then they have to make it look even better once they are established as whatever it is that they are. _Together_ sounds a little too real, but still. Once the relationships are more or less confirmed, they have to look like they care about each other. Cathy isn't entirely sure how well she can pull that off; she might have to make time to spend with Dean and Seth to at least build a friendship so they have additional chemistry to work with during the shows. As for Shay and Roman... That's just going to be humorous to watch, really. But she's sure they can pull off _something,_ even if it isn't exactly as perfect as the company wants.

"We should probably hang out more just to establish some sort of rapport," she finally says, because the idea seems like a good enough one and she might as well share it, right? "I mean, we don't really know each other all that well, and people who are at least friends do a hell of a lot better when they're in the ring than people who don't know each other at all."

Seth claps her on the shoulder gently. "I like that idea, actually. And it's true. It helps a lot."

"We don't have much time today because we have a lot of work to do, but later on, yes, we can do that." Roman nods, glances at Shay. She simply nods in return.

"We have things to do today, too, so it works out." Not true at all. They have nothing much to do today, and Shay knows that, but she doesn't say anything to refute Cathy's little white lie. "And we should probably head to wardrobe and find out if they want to give us new gear or not."

Shay makes a face and shakes her head. "My ring gear is fine. I don't _want_ new ring rear."

Not that they have much choice if the company puts it on them, but still. Cathy nods in silent agreement before pushing herself to her feet, mildly amused when Dean and Seth do the same. Each of them holds a hand out to her that she shakes, noticing the slightly quiver in Dean's fingers, that lasting twitch that seems to take over his body at every still moment.

"I look forward to working more with you," Roman says, shaking Shay's hand once more.

Cathy chuckles when her friend merely gives a noncommittal nod before stepping between the ropes and dropping to the floor, quickly moving to follow her. Get to wardrobe, then find some kind of food and figure out where to go from here. Sounds like a good plan to her, anyway.

Shay looks up at her when they leave the room. "What Roman said. What the hell was that?"

"No idea." Cathy shrugs. "Come on. Let's get to wardrobe and find lunch. I'm starving."


	3. Chapter Two

_**Chapter Two**_

Roman rakes his fingers through his hair, ripping through knots without a second thought as he shoulders his way into the Shield locker room. It's a small room away from the others and serves its purpose just fine; it's going to be strange sharing this room with two girls, but he figures it's best to show them this room now rather than put it off and have to deal with it at a later date.

Dean's match is over; the girls did their job and did it well, leaving the fans confused as to why two rookies rushed the ring to protect Dean at all. Though Roman is certain more than a few of them figured it out when he and Shay stopped staring at each other to shake hands.

"That was the cheesiest thing I've had to do since I joined this company," Shay mutters, and Roman glances over at her as he sits down on a bench, staring to unlace his boots.

"It could've been worse," Cathy argues as she drops down on the opposite bench, leaning her back against the lockers. "I think we sold it. I think the fans were really thrown off."

Dean grins crookedly at her as he drops his bag on the floor and comes to stand next to Roman, unwinding the tape from his wrists. "Oh, you sold it. I think you sold it a little too well."

True, that. The girls had cleared out the ring beautifully; there appeared to be some dissension between Cathy and Ryback that Roman doesn't want to get into because, honestly, it's not any of his business. But they still did their jobs well; Cathy looked honestly concerned for Dean when she helped him sit up, going so far as to tuck sweaty hair out of his face as he clutched his U.S. title to his chest. When Seth knelt by Dean's other side and rested a hand on his shoulder, Roman could see that storyline working. He still can; Dean's increasing manic behavior coupled with Seth's no-nonsense approach to their team will be a beautiful contrast. But then, he knew the three of them would do just fine; it was their fifth partner his focus was honed in on.

He understands the tension that's been pinging off of Shay since earlier today when they had their little practice bout; she knows she's being used to sell this storyline and she doesn't like it in the least. If it happens to be personal, Roman would at least like to know what he did wrong in the past to make her dislike him so much. But he knows it has very little to do with him at least where negativity is concerned. Even if she doesn't like the storyline very much, she didn't try to crush his hand when they shook in the ring. That says more about her than she can know.

And she's good in the ring, so at least whatever interferences or matches the Authority puts together, working with her is going to be a solid effort. He doesn't have to worry about carrying both of them once they hit the ring, and he knows very well they are going to have to hit the ring together at least once or twice. Why bother inserting two girls into the Shield if they don't plan on playing that up with mixed tag matches once or twice? Hopefully just once or twice because Roman has never been a fan of mixed tag and he wants very little to do with it himself.

Seth clears his throat as he settles down on the bench next to Dean, dexterous fingers fumbling with the front of his vest as he looks at Shay. And he's all cartoon heart eyes that makes Roman roll his eyes and look away; it's not unusual for Seth to fixate on people who happen to share his music taste. Roman still remembers the first time Seth heard Shay's entrance music, slapping at Roman's arm as he informed him, _She's coming out to New Years Day, man!_

"Your entrance theme is so cool," Seth says as if reading Roman's mind, lips stretching in a grin.

"What?" Shay looks up from where she's halfway done unlacing her boots, her expression not blank but definitely guarded. "Oh, that's right. You like New Years Day, don't you? Thanks."

Seth's grin grows impossibly wider. "How'd you convince them to let you have that song?"

"How did..? Oh. I just asked and they did the rest, really. When I came in, they asked me if I had a gimmick and a song to match, and I just said I liked NYD and that song in particular, and they did what they did and now it's mine." She shrugs and finishes her boots, slipping them off.

"It's really cool. I remember seeing you onscreen the first time and hearing it, and I was freaking out. Wasn't I, Roe?" Seth doesn't give Roman a chance to answer. "And now we work together."

Dean clears his throat when Shay looks up again, face even more guarded. "Seth is just a music dork and he's always wanted another music dork to be friends with because Roe and I aren't willing to indulge him whenever he wants to be indulged. Congrats. The job is now yours."

"Thank you for the dubious honor. Cathy and I like much of the same music." Clever girl.

"Awesome. The girl I'm fake-dating should have good music taste." Seth flashes her a smile and Roman chuckles softly and shakes his head; _incorrigible._ "So, right, love storylines."

Now Dean looks more interested. "Can't say I've ever been in a legit love triangle, before."

Now _that_ is where Roman's patience with this ends; he glances in Shay's direction and notes the exact moment she tenses, muscles coiling in an obvious display of distress. She shares his feelings, then. Oh, he doesn't much mind pretending to have a thing for her because it wouldn't go beyond holding hands and maybe the occasional hug for the fans, but that's only if the Authority lets them keep it at a rated G level. And the program happens to be PG, not G.

"Can't say I've been in one, either," Cathy says after a beat, smiling and shrugging up at him.

"Surprised they're really going this far. Must be playing up the dissension angle again." Seth rolls his eyes; it had been up to him the first time to end that, after all. "Okay, so, does anyone have any idea how they want us to do this or are we just supposed to freestyle this or what?"

Roman glances down the line at his brothers, then across the room at the girls; nobody speaks, which means nobody knows. _Son of a bitch._ He resists the urge to swear aloud, gritting his teeth when the locker room door is suddenly and rudely thrown open. The fact that Hunter is in the doorway just serves to darken his mood further; does this man not know how to knock?

He doesn't even look at _them,_ just the girls. "Good job tonight, ladies. Very convincing."

"Seth just raised an interesting point," Cathy says, and Roman smirks slightly; straight to the point. "How are we supposed to do this? Are we supposed to make it up as we go along?"

"And exactly how _far_ are we supposed to go with it?" Shay adds, and Roman glances at her silently, appraising her again. Sharp girl; she asked the most important question.

"You, Rollins, and Ambrose just play it straight. Act interested in both of them; you two play up that you enjoy the attention and then gradually start to get jealous when the other gets the attention instead of you." Hunter delivers the words without inflection and Roman sneers slightly. "Fight each other. You know the drill. Reigns, you two play it just like you did tonight. Alpha male and alpha female, considering each other, stalking around each other, not quite sure of the other. Maybe downright not liking each other. Realizing you have a lot more in common."

Roman frowns and shifts forward slightly. "How far are we going to take this Hunter?"

"I don't see why you can't take it as far as the PG rating allows. Get cleaned up and back to the hotel. Might be easier to, ah, brainstorm there." And with that, he leaves the room.

It takes all of Roman's remaining self-control not to fly off into an Ambrose-inspired rage and trash the locker room at the news; the Authority wanted intimacy, then. Probably kissing. He didn't sign up for this, but he's backed into a fucking corner and he has no idea how to get out of the damned thing. Why do they have to take storylines that work and turn them into cheesy caricatures of things that actually make sense? He doesn't care to have Cathy and Shay acting as members of the Shield; certainly, it might add dimension and reach another demographic with the fans, but using all five of them as cheap romantic props is taking it a step too far.

"He totally wants us to make out on camera, doesn't he?" Dean asks in the silence that follows Hunter's exit, his brows furrowing as he turns to face Roman. "Dude, is he for real? How long is this storyline going to last that we're going to have time not only to romance two women but time to get in some making out on camera? It's like he thinks we're fucking Superman."

Shay sighs and throws her boots to the floor. "Pushy bastard, isn't he? I fucking hate him."

"We'll get through this. It doesn't have to be the end of the world. It's just one storyline." Cathy's voice is low and soothing as she rests a hand on Shay's shoulder, but...

There's something else there, not just marked frustration but something more that is stressing the young woman out. Frowning, Roman shoots a silent look at Dean, inclining his head just enough to indicate his area of interest. Dean's pale blue eyes slide slightly before meeting Roman's again, his head tilting in a barely-there nod. He sees it, too, then. Something here is off.

Roman makes a mental note to ask Cathy later on what is going on with her friend; now doesn't seem like the wisest time to inquire about Shay's private thoughts or feelings on this subject. Though he does have to admit it stings to think he truly might have done something to warrant her irritation and anger over this entire thing. He doesn't know her at all; he's seen her wrestle but other than that, neither of them have had any interaction with each other. She's friends with the jobbers and the mid-card wrestlers, and Roman is neither of the above.

_Oh._ Is it possible she has feelings for one of those wrestlers? He turns the idea over in his mind, trying to puzzle out who he's seen her with before. Slater and Barrett are out; the two of them are hopelessly devoted to each other, after all. McIntyre, though... He's seen them together before.

Maybe this is distressing her because she doesn't want to risk hurting the guy she likes or risking her chance of being with him at all. Roman will have to talk to Cathy, then. If there is someone else, he can go to Hunter himself and make it perfectly clear their relationship will stay platonic no matter what he or the fans want to see. The last thing Roman wants to be is responsible for fucking up someone's personal life by pushing a storyline further than it should be pushed.

"Can we escort you back to your hotel room?" Roman asks after the silence begins to permeate the room again. With his boys, he would let the silence fall, but these girls aren't his boys and never will be. "Or maybe to your car? The arena's bound to be nearly empty by this point."

Shay looks ready to object but Cathy lays a hand on her arm and gives her a quiet look; there appears to be some mental communication there before the two of them finally nod. Satisfied, Roman continues undressing, stripping off his boots and vest without thinking twice about it. He changes into shirts before they hit the hotel room for the night; there, he takes time to shower.

"We still on for hanging out tomorrow?" Seth asks abruptly; Roman frowns and shoots the younger man a scowl he doesn't see because he isn't looking in the proper direction.

Cathy is the one to answer; Shay looks like she's out of words for the evening. "We have to drive to our next show tomorrow, but that might actually work... Okay, how about we split up on the ride back to the hotel? I can ride with you and Dean, and Roman can ride with Shay. If that works out, we can think about doing it tomorrow. Get in some quality... Hangout time."

"I got no problem kicking the big man out of the car for the night," Dean says, and Roman makes a mental note to call him a traitor later on. "If your friend doesn't mind, that is."

"It's fine with me. Doesn't really matter who I ride with." But the way Shay's shoulders twitch says the opposite. Roman isn't going to push her into saying no, though; if she says she has no problem riding with him, then he's going to ride with her. Listening is better than assuming.

Seth is finished first, standing at the end of the benches. "Can we quit with the chitchat and go?"

"No one said you had to get ready faster than all of us," Roman points out as he digs out a shirt.

"Maybe not, but you and Dean sure as fuck yelled at me to hurry up before," Seth mutters; the dig is not unnoticed and Dean elbows Seth hard in the ribs. "Watch your elbows, Ambrose."

Roman sighs and scrubs a hand over his face, not willing to intercede tonight as he tugs his shirt over his head, yanking his hair out of the back of it when it gets trapped by the fabric. Then he pulls the mass of it back into a ponytail. Outside of the ring, he keeps it up for a reason.

He catches curious green eyes on him for a beat before Shay looks away again, changing out her boots for a pair of worn tennis shoes she slips on without unlacing. Apparently she doesn't plan on changing out of her tights in front of him. He can't say he blames her for that, though.

"Let's go," he says once he sees the others more or less ready to leave. Might as well finish up at the hotel where they each have a measure of privacy. God knows he needs the privacy.

The others file out first, Seth leading the way, but Dean drags his feet so he and Roman end up together at the back of the group and out of earshot. "What do you think of them, Roe?"

"Good fighters," he says, glancing over at Dean. "Good for the group dynamic overall. It works."

"Our little Architect is already enamored, isn't he?" Dean glances ahead; Seth is chattering away.

Roman smirks and shakes his head. "Can't help himself, Dean. You know that. He needs it."

"I know. I know." Dean falls silent for a moment, then, "Something is not right with your girl."

"Something bad, you think?" For all his flaws and faults and ego, Dean can read people too well.

He seems to think it over before shaking his head. "No. Think she's interested in you. Saw her looking at you more than once when you were changing. Not that it's uncommon, but still."

True enough; women are drawn to Roman like moths to a flame, and just like those moths they are often burned when he turns them away. Working with the Shield comes first and foremost in his life, and the thought of a romantic liaison doesn't interest him or keep his attention. It would take away from his brothers and he doesn't want that to happen, either. The three of them had nothing before they found each other, and the last thing he wants to do is risk losing either of them. It's yet another reason why this storyline bothers him so very much.

"Don't knock it 'til you try it, Roman." The words are light and playful but the tone is not; Dean's eyes are sharp and cold as ice, conveying just how seriously he means those words.

"No, Ambrose. Don't say another word and do not push this subject. I told you last time that it wouldn't happen and it's not going to." Roman clamps his jaw when Dean only smirks and cocks his head, eyes twitching forward and back. The suggestion there is annoying. "No. This is work only, and work it will stay. They'll be on their way long before this storyline is over."

Dean just shakes his head but, thankfully, lets the subject drop. For now. Roman knows very well that Dean will find a time to bring it up again, pushing Roman to cross the line and turn work into play like Dean will no doubt try to. Hopefully, Seth will know to keep Dean in check because around women, Dean needs to be kept in check. He likes to play, dabbling in all sorts of things Roman doesn't even want to think about, but ultimately he knows how to keep it at nothing more than fucking in hotel rooms late at night after the match is over. Roman isn't like Dean, though; he wants emotion more than he wants sex, and finding emotion is too hard.

He has to put his career ahead of his life for the sake of everything, and that's so hard.

And if Shay does like him, all the more reason to make this about their jobs rather than their social lives; some superstars and Divas work, and too many others go up in flames.

He doesn't want to ruin her career because something goes down between them that shouldn't go down and the Authority decides to punish her for it instead of him. He will _not_ be that guy.

Once they reach the parking lot, he looks to his boys before nodding once, the five of them splitting into two groups. Dean and Seth flank Cathy, leading her toward their car, while Roman falls into step beside Shay, glad for the silence. Dean and Seth never shut up, and it's nice to have a little peace and quiet even if there is more than a little tension to that peace and quiet.

Shay doesn't say anything as she unlocks the car and opens the driver's side door, settling down on the seat and combing a hand through her hair. To Roman, she looks exhausted and it most likely has more to do with the Shield than he wishes it did. He doesn't like it when people in the locker room have real problems with them because they do strive to be decent guys backstage.

The darkness affords him the chance to get a proper look at her without any outside light making his actions blatantly obvious. At five-seven, she's pale like Dean is, sporting dark green eyes that he thought were brown at first and long, dark brown hair that falls in loose curls over her shoulder blades. She's also lush and not in the normal Diva way; the weight isn't just in her breasts or hips but pretty much just spread all over her. He wonders if that has something to do with the fact she stays as covered up as Tamina, if not more so, and decides not to ask. _Ever._

"I'm sorry if Dean and Seth are a little much at first," he offers when the silence starts to hurt his ears. He needs _some_ conversation even if it's minimal. "They can be… Excitable."

Shay shrugs one shoulder and stops at a red light, pushing her hair back out of her face as she turns her head slightly to look at him. "Understandable. It happens. No big deal."

"Are you sure? Because I can corral them better if need be. They'll never quite learn the way normal people do, but if they're explicitly told someone's being alienated by their behavior, they'll stop." Which is partially true, but Roman also carries the physical threat as well.

"No, it's fine." Shay grips the steering wheel a little tighter and turns away. "I can handle it."

Oh, is _that_ what this is about? "I never meant to make it sound like you can't. I'm sure you can handle them just fine. But I have a little more experience with putting them in their places."

"I don't really care if I can handle them or not. They're your boys. If it gets to that point, I kind of expect you to step in anyway." Shay's voice is low, quiet, and infuriatingly blank.

"You're incredibly difficult to read. I think I'm starting to understand why Seth and Dean complain so much about me being that way." Roman lets that rest, watching her shoulders twitch in what he thinks might be silent laughter before deciding to hit another point he's been wondering about. "So, are you going to be missing working with McIntyre or..?"

Shay's head snaps around so fast it looks like it hurts. "Why would I miss working with Drew?"

"You're reading implications in that question, too," Roman observes softly, biting back a smirk.

"You know what? Fuck you. You're making implications with that question and I'm not sure I like what you're implying." Shay turns back to the road but the tight bunch of muscle in her shoulders says more than anything about how she feels right now. At least he's starting to get something from her other than nervous energy and discomfort. "Drew and I are good friends. Which somehow translates into fuck buddies with the locker room. But that's not true."

_Then why are you having such a problem working with me?_ "I'm sorry for making the implication, then. I was just thinking that if there was something going on between you—"

"And there isn't," Shay snaps, and there it is. There's real anger for a change. Actual emotion.

"And someone, then this storyline might strain that," Roman finishes, letting the silence fall.

It settles for a moment before Shay exhales heavily and rolls down her window, allowing cool night air to creep into the car as they speed down the highway. "That's actually thoughtful of you. But no. There's nothing going on between me and anyone else. Just… A lot of people are implying that there is, and Drew and I are honestly sick of it. You can't just be friends in this business unless you're already dating someone and are unavailable. Then you can be friends."

"I thought I should double check just the same." Roman runs a hand through his hair; he should have put it up back in the locker room. "This makes you uncomfortable. I can tell."

Silence again, but not the negative kind and this time he doesn't fight it or try to instigate another conversation between them. The nervous energy slowly drains from the air and he finds himself better able to breathe, glancing over to see Shay relaxing in her seat and drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. This seems more like her than the girl in the locker room, but Roman doesn't know her well enough to make that assumption just yet so he stops it. Better to not assume any more tonight and risk pricking her temper again before they have a chance to make this work.

They reach the hotel and Roman sees no sign of his car; anger pings through him for a moment before he simply shakes his head and wonders if Dean and Seth decided to not stay at this hotel. Wouldn't be the first time the two of them do something they are not supposed to do, and he makes a mental note to take a crack Dean in the jaw if this is what he thinks it is. Shay stands beside her car for a moment, surveying the parking lot silently before looking up at him. From this position, she looks even shorter and he wonders what all five of them will look like in a line.

"If Cathy suggested they should go somewhere before coming here, she'll do it just to not hurt their feelings," Shay says after a moment, and Roman has to count back from twenty.

"I'm sorry my men are children. I'm going to get a room, and I'll leave a note with the person at the desk for them when they eventually show up. I suggest you do the same." Roman shoulders his bag and heads for the hotel, not about to play into Dean's grand hook-up plan even though he knows he was just unnecessarily rude. His parents raised him to be polite to women, but right now he's too angry to consider his manners. Dean and Seth should be here by now.

Shay catches up with him a moment later, her own bag hanging from one shoulder. "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have let them drag Cathy off with them. I know better than to do that."

And that makes him feel even worse for being so rude to her. But he isn't, he _can't_ let Dean's words get to him and he sure as hell is not going to provide ammunition for Dean come morning. No, he can get his own room and Shay can get hers. The deal was to ride back together and they did that. There's no reason for them to keep up contact at any point during the rest of the night.

He can tell she's the kind of person who wants space anyway, and they established moments ago their relationship will be the rather awkward sort if anything at all. Why bother pushing it? Why stress both of them out with the weight of conversation or just sitting in the same space together? There isn't a reason. They both need to turn in and get ready for the next match they have to deal with no matter what that match will be. Career first, everything else second. Sounds good to him.

There's no more conversation as they each get their separate room keys and leave their notes. No conversation in the elevator on the ride up to their room. Roman plans to go straight to his room, turn in for the night, and try to get some sleep. God only knows when Seth and Dean are coming if they come at all, and he wants to be refreshed for the beating he plans on giving both of them.

"Are you heading to bed, then?" he finds himself asking before the elevator reaches their floor, not sure why he cares in the first place but the words are already out. No way to take them back.

"Night owl. I'll be up for a few more hours before I get any sleep." Shay turns to face him, bracing her back against the wall, and slumping down just makes her smaller. "What about you? You go to bed this early? I imagine Seth and Dean are going to wake you up when they show."

Roman chuckles dryly before doing the same, leaning his back against the wall and observing the young woman standing in front of him. _Is_ he going to go to bed? That's the plan, but… "Unless you have something better in mind, that's exactly what I'm going to do. Seth isn't so bad when he shows up. He tries to be quiet. Dean couldn't give a fuck if he tried, I'm pretty sure."

"It's not necessarily a better something, but I'm pretty sure there'll be something trashy on the movie channels and it's better than trying to sleep for three hours," Shay says after a minute.

_Fuck, it's better as far as I'm concerned._ "Sure. I'll drop my stuff off and join you."

"Or you can just join me period," Shay says. "I can text Cathy and tell her to room with your boys tonight and you room with me. Two beds. Plenty of room. And I won't wake you up."

That's much better than just going straight to bed and being woken up whenever Seth and Dean arrive. So Roman nods and watches Shay retrieve her phone, tapping out a quick message before sliding it back in her pocket. Might as well spend a little quality time together anyway, right? They'll be working closely together in the coming weeks and they need some kind of chemistry.

"This… This is going to be hard, isn't it?" Her voice is low, almost inaudible even in the quiet.

The elevator _dings_ and comes to a stop, the doors sliding open, and they step out, Roman falling in step behind her as they head for her hotel room. "Yes. I've never been in a storyline like this one before, but this is going to be hard. At least we're all on somewhat even ground, though."

"Isn't that worse? Because we're all going to be green." Shay whips her keycard through the scanner and shoves the door open, stepping into the dark room and heading for the beds.

Roman waits for her to turn on the nightstand lamp before shutting the door and locking it. "True. But at least now we can all just bask in the lovely awkward situation Hunter has shoved us in."

"I thought things would be better with him in charge," Shay muses as she drops her bag on the floor and stretches. "I could've _sworn…_ But nope. I'm going to get changed. You can in here."

She steps into the bathroom and he makes quick work of his clothes, settling on a pair of boxers and an old t-shirt that looks to have once been a present from Seth. When Shay returns to the room in, surprisingly, a pair of boxers and a tank top, Roman decides not to comment and just flops down on the bed he's chosen as his own for tonight. No random Seth cuddles tonight. _Good._

They stay on their separate beds and they watch a couple of trashy movies before Roman feels her eyes on him again. Maybe Dean was right, then. Maybe she _does_ have a thing for him, which will only make this entire thing so much more complicated than he wants it to be. Maybe being a dick to her and not worrying about her feelings will make her think he's a bad guy and she'll get over him and leave him alone. But if Dean is wrong—a very likely possibility considering Dean is mentally unstable—then being a dick will only serve in making him look bad for no reason. Too bad he just can't come out and ask her if she's interested in him or something.

He'll ask McIntyre. There, _that_ seems like a good plan and the tall Scotsman is likely to know if Shay does like him if they're half as good friends as the locker room makes them out to be. If Roman explains the situation, maybe Drew will be nice and understanding and just tell him the truth. Asking Cathy won't work because now he doesn't know if she'll tell Seth or Dean.

The issue isn't that he doesn't trust her. But it is because he doesn't know her and therefore cannot be expected to trust her. Dean is just an incredible weasel for information and he has no idea what that bastard is telling her right now. Whether it be the truth or his own version of it.

"You think incredibly loud and it's starting to kill my shitty movie buzz," Shay suddenly says, the volume of her voice suggesting he is literally thinking loudly.

But it serves its purpose, he guesses, because he hears her over the run of his own thoughts. "Sorry. A lot to think about. Not used to working in this kind of situation, you know."

"None of us are," Shay agrees, "_but_ Dean and Seth weren't thinking as loudly as you are."

"Since when can you tell the volume of a person's thoughts without hearing them?" Roman demands, a little rougher than he probably should but fuck it. She's messing with his head.

Shay snorts and leans back into her pillows, tugging at the bottom of her t-shirt. "Call it a sixth sense. But you are thinking loudly instead of watching the movie. Watch the movie. It's bad."

"It's _bad,_" Roman parrots. "Why would I want to watch a movie because it's bad?"

This time, she smirks. "How do you know what's good if you can't identify what's bad, Roe?"

He stops then, not sure how to answer the question and thrown off by her use of his nickname. It's not uncommon for Seth or Dean to call him that, but those two are his friends and she is a stranger. Still, there's something to that smirk and the way she said his name. _Something._ What?

He doesn't know enough about her to pick up on what it might be, but he files it away for later and settles on asking a third source for answers. Someone from NXT. Maybe Dean can convince Sami to talk to them. Those two were tight back in CZW and it's the perfect opportunity to pretend he cares more about their team dynamic than figuring out what the fuck just happened. Sami Callihan will tell Roman what he needs to know, and then maybe he can sit down and figure out exactly why he ended up in a hotel room with a stranger instead of in his own room, fast asleep and waiting for the rest of his stable to show up and come to bed with him.

* * *

_**A/N: Oh look, tension between Roman and Shay. How exciting. Tension is always exciting. You cannot not like tension. So after those beautiful fatherhood advertisements and seeing Roman's wonderful interaction with his daughter, Joelle, I'm thinking she might pop up in here eventually. As well as his fiancee, Galina. In the most respectful way possible, of course. Because disrespect is just not cool. Thank you to my wonderful readers still sticking with this story.**_


End file.
